a 1.9 km long channel. Extensive construction and renovation took place in 1992/1993. The two originally separate houses were joined by a central section, and the entrance, kitchen, toilets and the guest rooms in the old forestry building were redesigned. Hydraulic ram The hydraulic ram on the Waldstein, invented by the Montgolfier brothers, has been pumping water for over 60 years without any losses. Remarkably, it operates without any motor or pump, but simply uses the power of the flowing water. It is located one kilometer west, and about 300 metres below, the Waldsteinhaus. Transmission site In October 1960, the first turf was cut for the transmitter on the Große Waldstein. In May 1961 the site, built by the former Deutsche Bundespost, whose primary aim was to broadcast ZDF in northeastern Bavaria, went into operation. The antennas were supported on a 47-metre-high steel tube. However, this mast could only cover the area around Hof, so in June 1963 work started on a 133-metre-high, guyed, steel lattice mast () (25 km south of Hof). This mast, which has platforms for directional antennas at heights of 30, 35 and 60 metres, took over the broadcast of ZDF television programmes in December 1963. Just two months earlier, on 22 October 1963, the former RIAS launched the transmission of its second programme from the Große Waldstein. From 1980 to 1994 RIAS 1's FM programme was broadcast on 89.3 MHz (20 kW ERP). It was then taken over by Deutschlandradio Kultur. From 1964 to 1992 RIAS 2 was broadcast on 91.2 MHz (20 kW ERP), Deutschlandfunk. Since 1995, Bayerischer Rundfunk has used the frequency from the transmitter on the Ochsenkopf for broadcasting Bayern 1 to the Upper Palatinate. Currently, the following VHF frequencies are used: Radio Euroherz and extra-radio share the frequency 88.0 MHz between them, broadcasting at different times. As DVB-T began broadcasting from the transmission site at Ochsenkopf im November 2008, analogue TV broadcasts by ZDF and Bayerisches Fernsehen from the Großer Waldstein were ended. Sources Karl Dietel: Der Große Waldstein im Fichtelgebirge. Natur, Gegenwart, Geschichte, Fichtelgebirgsverein Hof 1987, (Das Fichtelgebirge; Band 1) Karl Dietel: Der Große Waldstein im Fichtelgebirge, Saalfrank, Helmbrechts, 1968, (Zwischen Waldstein und Döbraberg; Band 7) Karl Dietel: [several articles] in: Der Siebenstern, Vereinszeitschrift des Fichtelgebirgsvereins e. V. Ludwig Zapf: Waldsteinbuch, 1886 External links Großer Waldstein Mountains of the Fichtelgebirge Mountains under 1000 metres Archaeological sites in Germany Rock formations